


Day Care Mission

by Myka



Category: Weiß Kreuz
Genre: Children, Drama, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-08-16
Updated: 2003-08-16
Packaged: 2017-11-05 11:39:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/405985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myka/pseuds/Myka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yohji is given a special mission. Now he has to deal with screaming brats with the help of a certain annoying redhead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New part time job aka "teddy bear"

It was a fairly nice day. Clear skies, a nice breeze. Ask anyone on the street and they will tell you it was a very nice day indeed. Well...almost anyone.

Yohji Kudou didn't think it was such a nice day after all. Not after being briefed the night before of a special mission that apparently only he could do.

_"I don't get it Manx; why do I have to be stuck with this. Ken or Omi, and for heaven's sake even Aya! Are certainly more fitted to do this mission."_

_"The center is looking for someone relatively older, with more experience..."_

_"...and usually female" Yohji interrupted._

_"Kritiker already sent your resume to them. You start tomorrow."_

_"What?"_

_Manx gave him a look and Yohji instantly shut his mouth. "That's enough Balinese. Only you fit the bill for this mission. This time you don't have a choice."_

That had been the end of the discussion. So Yohji had dragged himself off his bed this morning to be where he had to be at six in the morning. The small, one floor building was very nice looking. It was painted in a combination of bright red along with green and yellow; very attractive colors. The sign on the front read in big, bold, blue letters: "Maki's Day Care Center"

The door opened swiftly and noiselessly. The soft touch of air conditioning could be felt instantly.

"Ohayo gozaimasu" Yohji exclaimed once inside.

"Ohayo!" a soft voice replied. The woman who the voice belonged to had short bluish hair that reached her shoulders. Yohji could hear her accent quite clear, since the woman wasn't japanese but clearly American.

"I'm Yohji Kudou. I'm the new child-minder. Are you the owner?"

"Yes. I'm Minako Lupi. Nice to meet you?"

"Minako?" he thought at the blatantly obvious non-American name. "Are you japanese?"

"Half actually. But I got almost all my genes from my father's side of the family." she said smiling. "Anyway, the kids will start to arrive in the next half hour. We give them a snack at nine, followed by lunch at noon, then nap time and after wards is playtime until their parents come to pick them up between two and five thirty. Your major was child education was it not?"

"Yes" Yohji replied without hesitation, remembering the mission files he had memorized the night before. "With a minor in communication" he added.

"Wonderful!" Minako replied with a smile. "You and the other guy will get along fine then, seeing as you both share the same major."

Yohji blinked. "Other guy?"

"Yes. I only need two child-minders to help me as we have only thirteen children enrolled; but the ladies that were helping me before quit at the same time. It's a little ironic how I replaced them with two men." she finished laughing a bit. "He's in the back preparing the play room for this afternoon, it was left a mess yesterday since I was alone. You can go and help him. I have something to finish here; I'll give a call once the kids start arriving."

Yohji nodded giving Minako a pleasant smile and leaving in the direction she had pointed, not giving much thought to her words.

This was his mission. Become a child-minder for a Day Care Center. "Maki's Day Care Center" to be exact. The child of one of Kritiker's main men attended the center. Said men and his family had been threatened by someone unknown. Kritiker had taken special precautions; but it was after a phone call specifying the child's name that Kritiker had decided to send Weiss to the Day Care. What better than an assassin to act as a bodyguard.

The cover was flawless. If someone decided to dig up Yohji's credentials they would find that everything on his resume was true; that he lived alone in a nice apartment on a nice neighborhood and his past employers would recognize him as one of the brightest minds in modern child care.

The perfect lie; the perfect cover-up.

Now he was destined to spend god knows how long stuck here babysitting brats. At least he wouldn't be completely alone with a bunch of kids; but besides both being male; Yohji was pretty certain that he and 'the other guy' had nothing in common. Poor bastard, he probably thinks he can talk with Yohji about all the new ways to better educate children. For Yohji that information would come in one ear and exit out the other.

The room he had been guided to was very cute; for lack of a better word. Small tables where positioned in order by the end of the large room, along with more than a dozen little chairs. The Nap area was by his left. Shelves filled with books and toys. All sorts of plush toys laid on the floor as well as crayons, storybooks and other things. There were three doors to the right of the room; each one had a sign above the doorframe: Bathroom, Outside and Storage Room. All the doors were closed except for the storage room.

Yohji could hear the noise someone was making from the room.

"Excuse me," he called in a calm tone.

The noise instantly stopped. A woman in her mid thirties came out of the storage room with a handbag in hand. She instantly smiled at Yohji.

"You must be the other one" she said softly. "Hi, I'm Kaede; I'm the one you came to replace."

"Oh" Yohji muttered in surprise.

"I just stopped by to pick up something I left here yesterday. Your co-worker seems like a very nice young man, I'm sure you'll both get along wonderfully. Well; it was nice meeting you. Sayonara."

"Sayonara." Yohji replied as Kaede left the room.

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened and Yohji plastered a slightly fake smile on his lips in order to greet who he was certain was his co-worker.

The smile vanished.

There was a gasp and Yohji's heart stopped for a brief second; his eyes going madly wide. He instantly started to feel the adrenalin taking over his emotions, everything.

The redhead from Schwarz stood by the now open door; his eyes very wide too as he held a teddy bear in his hands.

The image was surreal to say the least.

Yohji stood frozen for endless seconds and before either of them could react to the other's presence, someone patted Yohji's back.

"Oh, I see you two met each other." Minako announced in a cheerful voice. "Let me introduce you," she added as she walked forward pushing Yohji along with her. They stopped just two feet from Schuldig.

"Your name was...something with 'S' right?" she wondered.

Schuldig blinked, taking his eyes off Yohji for the first time since opening the door and coming out of it. "Schuldig," he answered her softly turning his gaze back to the Weiss assassin.

"Schuldig this is Yohji. Yohji this is Schuldig." She introduced them.

Slowly but surely, Schuldig extended a hand to Yohji. The blond grabbed his hand and shook it, accepting the greeting.

"Nice to meet you," the redhead spoke without any emotion.

"Likewise." Yohji replied.

Minako just smiled. "Great! It seems you too will get along just fine."


	2. Small introductions aka Schuldig's new nickname

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics = thoughts {"words"} = telepathic speech

_"Great! It seems you too will get along just fine."_

The sheer odds of it where statically impossible; and the irony of it didn't escape Yohji one bit.

"Well I have to go prepare the nursery." Minako said between smiles. "The bus will be here any minute. You don't have to worry about the infants since they are my responsibility. The room looks nice, good job." She finished cheerfully as she left the room, leaving the two assassins alone.

There where a few seconds of silence; Yohji was the first to speak. "Schwartz" he hissed under his breath.

Schuldig's eyes widen a bit in a mocking manner. "Weiss" he replied with a smirk in

"What are you doing here?" Yohji asked still angry and on the defensive. He had left his weapon at home, just too risky around children. The telepath's smirk widened and Yohji felt a sort of tingling in the back of his head.

Schuldig blinked. "Interesting" he commented.

"What's interesting?" the blond replied, still angry.

"We have the same mission." Schuldig stated plainly.

"Same mission?" Yohji asked in disbelief.

Schuldig sighed, rolling his eyes and giving his back to the blond as he walked to a corner of the room and placed the toys he'd been holding in their respective places. Then he sat on top of one of the small circled tables that where all over the room. "I'm supposed to babysit my bosses kid; just like you have to babysit your bosses kid." The redhead revealed.

Yohji instantly glared. "And I'm supposed to believe that?" he replied. "Do you know the odds of it being the same kid?"

"Whoever said it was the same kid?" Schuldig asked back.

Yohji actually thought for a bit. "Are you telling me that kids from both Esset and Kritiker go to the same nursery?" he asked with slight disbelief.

"It certainly seems so." Was the only replied the Weiss assassin got.

Yohji frowned. "That's a load of bullshit." He commented.

Schuldig just shrugged. "Believe what you want; it's still the truth."

Yohji opened his mouth to reply but was quickly interrupted by the German. "Here they come."

Schuldig stood from the table and Yohji slowly turned around as a small mass of kids burst through the door followed by Minako.

They were screaming. All of them.

"I want a cookie!"

"Where's Kaede?"

"I need to go to the bathroom!"

"Who moved my doll?"

Minako hurdled them together with an amazing skill and grouped them all together between Yohji and Schuldig.

"Quiet! Please everyone lower your voices." She ordered calmly and amazingly the kids obeyed. A small head count made Yohji realize that there where a total of eight children in the room. Five girls and three boys. Another quick headcount identified the one he had to protect.

"Where's Kaede?" one of the girls asked again. Minako smiled at all of them. "As you guys remember, yesterday we had a farewell party for Kaede and Tanya since they went to work on their new jobs. That means that today we greet our new friends that will be taking care of you from now on." She informed cheerily. "Now, everybody grab the hand of the person closest to you and stand side by side in a straight line." She ordered; and as the kids followed the instructions she glanced at both Schuldig and Yohji and signaled at them to stand in front of the group. Once there Yohji could feel the gaze of many little eyes directed at him.

"Ok." Minako said, raising her voice slightly. Let's start from the right. She walked the few steps over to the child on the farthest right. The young girl with semi long black hair smiled at her as her glasses emphasized her dark eyes. "This is Andrea" Minako introduced her; then moved one step forward over to the next kid; another girl. "This is Lina." She said as the girl with reddish-blond hair smile back. She repeated the process, introducing them all. A boy with short blond hair. "Yuki." Another girl; this time with short brown hair. "Niki." Another boy with flamed hair very similar to Schuldig's. "Gil." A girl with black hair set in curls. "Melissa." The last boy; one with straight dark hair with hints of what appeared to be blue. "Ryon." And the last girl; one with straight dirty blond hair. "Kyra."

That was her. That was the daughter of one of Kritiker's main chief's.

"Everyone." Minako proclaimed, making sure her voice carried over the small crowd. "This is Yohji and this is Schuldig" she said pointing to each of the boys. "Let's all say hi to them. Hi Yohji! Hi Schuldig!"

"Hi Yohji!" They all chorused at the same time. "Hi Sch…"

Most of the kids didn't even try to finish the German's name. The just stammered around it, falling wrong on the pronunciation. Yohji spared a glance at the telepath to find that the other had a very bored and annoyed look on is face.

"C'mon kids. You can do it. Repeat after me…Schuldig."

They tried again. Mostly just reaching the first syllable…Schu…

One kid repeated it twice, trying to get the name right…SchuSchu

It caught on; spreading over all the children; their small voices started to rise louder and louder. "Just like a train!" one yelled. That's when the chorus started. …

Yohji glance at Schuldig and saw the look of horror on the German's face at the nickname being sung by a bunch of screaming five year olds. Then the German turned angry emerald eyes at the blond. {"If you ever tell anyone about this Kudou, I'll kill you!"}

Yohji swallowed hard, trying to disguise the huge grin on his face, then slowly nodded.

Minako tried desperately to calm the altered crowd down and finally managed it after a minute. "Sorry Schuldig. I'm sure they'll get your name right by the end of the week." The redhead placed his best false smile at her. "Don't worry. It's fine. It really doesn't bother me."

{"Liar"} Yohji couldn't help but think.

{"Zip it Kudou!"}

Yohji grinned.

"But they're guys!" someone suddenly yelled.

"That doesn't matter" Minako replied.

"Are they gay?" another asked. Yohji's eyes widened a bit at the comment and he noticed how the German's left eye was twitching slightly. Please don't snap…please don't snap…mission…this is a mission…

"Niki!" Minako reprimanded the girl. "That's none of your business young lady." Minako's tone was perfect and Niki nodded slowly as she lowered her head a bit.

"Well; I think you guys can take it from here. The infants will be arriving any second now and I have to tend to them. Good luck guys."

Minako starting exiting the room and Yohji looked forward as he faced the firing squad.

Luck…he was sure going to need it.


	3. Strict Orders aka Why Schuldig should pay attention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics = thoughts, {"words"} = telepathic speech

The day care center had a total of thirteen children enrolled. Five babies and eight 5-year-olds that were as off now; Schuldig's and Yohji's responsibility.

Every eye on the room fell on Minako as she made her way towards the exit. The silence was making Yohji uncomfortable; because; since when do you see a bunch of kids being quiet?

Minako closed the door softly behind her and that's when all hell broke loose. Yohji didn't know which kid to follow as they all scrambled like a pack of wild rabbits. His first instinct was to keep an eye on Kyra and once he spotted her safely in a corner looking at a picture book; he didn't know what to do. But whatever it was; it certainly hadn't been covered in the pre-mission briefing. His instructions were to watch Kyra and help the other employee as much as he could; since assumingly the other employee actually knew what they were doing. Yohji was certain Schuldig would be a worst actor than him.

He hadn't expected to actually take care of the children. Just follow instructions.

Not knowing what to do, Yohji spared a glance at his enemy to find him resting his back comfortably against a wall, arms crossed and eyes closed; it looked like the racket didn't bother him at all. Yohji glared; he was certainly not getting closed to the telepath; that was his enemy. So instead he snatched a small rubber ball nearby and threw it at him.

Yohji waited to see the small toy crash with the redhead's forehead. But instead the German quickly raised a hand; catching the small projectile in mid flight just inches from his face.

{"Don't you know you can't sneak on a telepath?"} Yohji heard in his head. {"Childish Kudou, really… Throwing balls at your age."}

Yohji's glare doubled. He didn't want to say it, he really didn't… but he had to say it… {"Help me!"}

Schuldig's eyes looked slightly amused. {"Hey… I'm just supposed to watch the brat and let the other guy do the work."}

{"Which happens to be me. And as much as I hate to admit it; I probably know about this as much as you do. Which is probably zip."}

{"How hard can it be? Just make sure they don't poke an eye out."}

Yohji was about to reply when someone started crying. Leaving him no choice but to ignore the annoying redhead and go tend to the kids. The rest of the day was pretty much the same since Schuldig just looked like he was helping whenever Minako would come to check up on them. She would often ask the children if they were having fun and they would all scream "Yes!" very loudly. Why wouldn't they be having fun, they were pretty much doing whatever they wanted as long; as Schuldig had said; they didn't poke an eye out.

Finally around 5:30pm the last kid had been picked up. Yohji slump into one of the small chairs; he was exhausted. Minako had left him the keys to lock up after he and Schuldig had finished cleaning up.

There was movement on the room and Yohji forced open his eyes to find the telepath halfway out the door. "Where are you going?" he asked quickly as he stood up from the tiny chair.

"Home." The German replied calmly.

"No you're not!" Yohji yelled. "You're going to help me clean up this place for tomorrow. Is the least you can do after sitting on your lazy ass all day."

Schuldig grinned. "Like I said before Kudou. I'm just supposed to watch the brat not actually work here."

"Don't you dare walk out that door without helping me!" Yohji warned.

Schuldig's grin widened. "Oh, scary." He mocked. "Ja Kudou." He finished before leaving through the door.

Yohji felt the anger rising up to his head. He rushed towards the desk and picked up the phone in a blind fury and dialed a number.

Someone answered. "Moshi moshi."

"Omi?" Yohji asked trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

"Hai! Yohji kun. How was the mission?" the teenager asked.

The blond ignored the question. "Call Manx Omi." He ordered.

"Why?" the youngster asked.

"Because we have a problem about the mission."

The sofa down at the basement of the Koneko was very very comfortable compared to the little chairs of the Day Care Center. Yohji gave silent thanks to whomever had made the couch. He was resting comfortably as he waited for Manx's arrival.

"Was Schuldig really there Yohji?" someone asked. The blond nodded slowly, keeping his eyes closed.

"I wonder how this will affect the mission?" Omi replied.

"Not much."

Yohji's eyes snapped open at the comment. "What?"

Manx stood at the bottom of the stairs as she tolerated the assassins' gazes.

"What did you say?" Yohji asked again.

"We know about Schwartz. Schwartz knows about us." She said calmly.

"And?" Omi asked impatiently.

"And we are going to do nothing about it."

_"What!"_

"Calm down Balinese. The matter has already been discussed. We admit that this is an unexpected turn of events, but still the mission remains unchanged. You are to keep a close eye on Kyra Masaki and do your best to ignore Schwartz."

Yohji blinked in disbelief. "Ignore? _Ignore?_ The bastard won't even help with the damn kids! And I don't know what the hell I'm doing in the first place. I don't have any backup there."

Manx smiled mischievously as she pulled a bag she'd been hiding.

Yohji eyed her suspiciously; he was almost afraid to ask, "What's in the bag?"

Manx smiled broadened. "Videos. A crash curse on Day Care Tactics."

Yohji blinked at her again. Then suddenly slumped against the couch as he plastered his right hand across his face and prepared himself for a long night ahead.

It was 6:02am when Yohji walked inside the Day Care Center, just to be welcome by a smiling Minako.

"Good Morning Kudou san." She said cheerfully.

"Morning" the Weiss assassin replied forcing a smile.

"Schuldig san is already inside." She added gently to which Yohji nodded as he walked past her and into the main room. He glanced around for the German and spotted him outside; in the playground; smoking. Yohji instantly glared as he started swearing mentally.

Then the screaming started and Yohji gave silent thanks for remembering to bring some aspirin.

"Yohji! Yohji! Nissan!"

It took less than three seconds for all the kids to surround Yohji from every corner.

"Can you read me a book?"

"Can we play with the plushies today."

"Can I go outside and play?"

A light bulb lighted inside Yohji as a slightly maliciously smile formed on his lips. "Who wants to go outside?" he asked at the bunch of five-year-olds. All three boys raised their hands. He looked at them, catching the boys' attention, then he pointed out towards where Schuldig could be seen by the window. "Schu is out there, he'll keep an eye on you." He told them, making emphasis on the nickname the kids had given the telepath. The three boys smiled and Yohji noted the mischievousness in those smiles as they headed outside in a run.

Yohji felt proud at his fast thinking. But the smile on his face was quickly erased as five pairs of eyes stared at him. "And would you girls like to do?" he asked in quite a good mood.

All five girls exchanged looks with each other, their faces turning to innocent smiles. They all yelled at the same time. "Tea party!"

A piece of cloth covered one of the small table's in the main room. Small pieces of a toy tea set placed all over it. The girls played 'tea party' like pros and Yohji did his best to play along.

The only thought that kept passing through his mind was that it could be worse.

Like on queue with his thoughts, a small scream was heard outside and Yohji glanced towards the outside window just in time to witness the blue haired kid; Ryon; running like mad all across the playground as he held something between his small hands. Schuldig appeared suddenly behind him, running also in a mad dash after the boy; his hair wild, out of control.

"Give that back! You little…"

That's when Yohji noticed that the 'something' that Ryon was holding was none other than Schuldig's yellow bandana.

"What's so funny Yohji nissan?" Kyra asked sweetly. Yohji covered his mouth with one hand as he tried miserably to hide the bursts of laughter that escaped from his mouth. The girls all exchanged looks, wondering what could have possibly happened that made their teacher laugh so much.

Ten minutes into nap time Yohji decided to get a five-minute break outside in the playground. Once outside he found Schuldig sitting against one of the exterior walls apparently lost in thought. Yohji didn't really want to even come close to the annoying German, but he was pretty desperate for a normal adult conversation after playing 'tea-party'; and since Minako was unavailable; that only left the redhead. He forced his feet to make the less noise possible as he approached him; then suddenly sat behind him, catching the telepath off guard. Schuldig blinked at him suspiciously; but didn't remark at his enemy's closeness nor did he tried to move away.

"It's Ryon isn't it?" Yohji asked out of the blue.

Schuldig was obviously taken aback by the question. "Eh?"

"The kid Ryon. He's the one you have to guard." Yohji repeated firmly.

Schuldig let out a small grunt; not acknowledging the words; but Yohji knew his assumption was right.

"How did you know Kudou?" the redhead asked.

"You didn't use your powers on him when you'd otherwise would have."

"Very perceptive Kudou. Bravo." Schuldig replied in a mocking manner. Then he added. "Enjoyed the show didn't you?"

Yohji couldn't suppress a smile. "You deserve it for not helping me yesterday." Schuldig grunted and Yohji's smile broadened. "You were told to ignore me and play along ne?"

Schuldig blinked at the blond, a slight smirk forming on his face. "In the words of the all mighty Crawford." The redhead mocked. "Ignore the wire wielder and do your job." He quoted. "You too?"

"Yep." Yohji replied quickly.

The redhead grinned; suddenly he didn't feel so bummed any more.

Things were pretty calm after the kids had woken from their nap. The girls were playing quietly with their dolls on a table as the boys were talking among themselves on a corner. Yohji decided to give a head start on the cleaning, with Schuldig; amazingly enough; helping him. What better motivation than strict orders from your boss.

Schuldig was putting all the storybooks in their respective spots when someone pulled on his clothes. He looked sideways to find the blond boy named Yuki beside him. Schuldig returned his gaze to the books.

"What is it?" he asked in his nicest voice possible.

"Can I play with this?" the boy asked.

"Yeah sure" the redhead answered only glancing momentarily at what the boy was holding, making sure it wasn't anything sharp.

The boy ran away yelling in triumph toward his two friends. "He said yes! He said yes!"

Schuldig shrugged the reaction off and returned to picking the books.

Yohji finished organizing the storage room ten minutes before 2:00pm; when the kids parents would start picking them up. Yohji spotted Schuldig on the left corner of the room, still organizing some of the stuff. He browsed around for the kids and found them all gathered around one table, giggling and laughing among themselves.

"What are you guys doing?" Yohji asked as he reached them and took his first look at whatever laid on the table. The blond's eyes went wide.

"Ahhh!" Stop! Stop!" he yelled. "Schuldig! Help!"

The redhead rushed over to the table where Yohji was now battling for control.

Finger-paint.

Bright red finger-paint.

Everywhere.

The entire table was covered with it; along with eight sets of hand and clothes. Yohji started to pull the kids from the table and Schuldig followed his lead.

"Who told you you could play with finger-paint?" Yohji asked at Ryon who was clearly the ringleader. They all instantly pointed at Schuldig. "He did."

Yohji's eyes settled on the redhead who look slightly disturbed at the accusation and finger pointing. The blond took a deep breath; screaming at the clueless telepath was a big no no in front of small children. He took a deep breath. "Ok everyone." He said raising his voice a bit. "To the bathroom. All of you. Go clean up." He ordered in a strict tone.

The kids obeyed and started to head in the direction of the bathroom. Yohji waited for them to leave.

"What is wrong with you?" Yohji hissed at the telepath after the kids were out of ear range. Schuldig tried his best to ignore the blond's fury as he kneeled in front of the table and started cleaning the mess.

"Keep your voice down Kudou!" he replied. "Fine. I admit it. I made a mistake. Don't worry, I'll get this clean up in a just a second."

"That's not the point Schuldig." Yohji added, still angry. "You're suppose to keep a good eye on them; not just leave them alone as long as they aren't at each other's throats."

Schuldig glared.

The discussion continued. Yohji would accuse Schuldig of something and the German would just defend his point stubbornly. They were so into spitting at each other, that they never noticed as Ryon appeared from the bathroom and started to walk towards them as he opened a small circular plastic tube he held in his hands.

"Your wrong Balinese!" Schuldig yelled when he suddenly felt something icky oozing from the top of his head and down his face. His fingers flew to the top of his head and returned with blotches of yellow finger-paint. He glanced slowly sideways to find Ryon grinning maliciously with an empty tube of yellow finger-paint on his hands. Schuldig's hands shot forward in a blinded rage. He was going to squeeze that little throat, even if it was the last thing he did.

Ryon dodge the hands in one swift move. It was obvious the kid had been trained in some type of martial arts. Schuldig started to raise himself from the floor in order to gain the advantage; but as he started to reach for the kid again quick hands restraint him and Schuldig was pulled back into a tight hold.

{"Let go of me Kudou!"} the telepath hissed mentally as he tried to get free of his enemy's hold.

{"Take it easy Schuldig! Your suppose to protect him, not hurt him!"}

{"Once he is dead no one will hurt him!"} The German retorted as kept struggling against Yohji's hold, causing droplets of finger-paint to splatter to the Weiss assassin's face.

{"Don't be a moron! Control yourself!"} Yohji repeated.

Schuldig suddenly went completely still and Yohji waited a bit before he was certain he could let go of the redhead. Schuldig didn't move.

"Go to the bathroom Ryon. We'll talk about your punishment later."

The young boy started to open his mouth to protest but quickly closed it after noticing the look on his teacher's face. He left in a fast pace leaving the two assassins alone again.

"Balinese" Schuldig called softly.

"What?" the blond replied.

"Kill me if I ever decide to reproduce myself."

Yohji raised his eyebrows slightly at the comment; then smiled. "Ditto."


	4. The longest mission aka Here is where the drama comes in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics = thoughts {words} = mental speech

It had been four weeks since the paint incident and both assassins had discovered that they stood a better chance in controlling the children if they worked together. So apart from the weirdness of it at first, they had got used to each other's presence. Not only that, but the tutorial tapes that Yohji had been forced to watch constantly were actually working.

The peace didn't last for long and it was around 9:30 when the first incident occurred. There was a scream; a slightly desperate one; and Yohji rushed to the spot where the noise came from.

He instantly spotted one of the boys pulling one of the girl's black curls to the limit. Yohji rushed towards them "Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop that right now!" he yelled not too loudly. The red-haired kid just ignored him and Yohji tried to call his attention by yelling his name but for the life of him he couldn't remember it right now. Even after four weeks, Yohji could never remember names when he was stressed.

{"It's Gil."}

Yohji blinked. {"And don't scream at the kid, he won't listen to you if you keep doing it."} Yohji blinked again. It was still slightly uncomfortable for him to hear the telepath inside his head, but at least he was helping. "Gil stop that. Stop pulling…"

{"Melissa's."}

"…stop pulling Melissa's hair."

The boy named Gil obeyed and let go of the teary-eyed Melissa and silently retreated towards where the other boys were.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Yohji asked as Melissa cleaned her face with her hand. She nodded softly and Yohji smiled at her. "Good, you can go play with the other girls if you want to." Melissa smiled back as she nodded, then left to join the other girls.

Yohji sighed a bit to himself, this routine was starting to drain him, he even missed working at the flower shop. Not that working with the kids was boring, quite the contrary, he never knew what to expect. But he had to sacrifice a few things; his nightlife first and foremost. He had to get up at five every morning, so he had gone to sleep a lot earlier this past month. Still… The change of routine was nice.

Yohji sighed; getting lost in your own thoughts was not a very smart move when you were on duty. He spotted Schuldig taking out some building blocks for the boys and remembered the other assassin's aid with the names earlier. It had annoyed him a little, of course he knew the kids names by now, but Yohji wasn't about to start a discussion over something so ridiculous.

{"Thanks for the help,"} He voiced quite loudly in his head.

The blond assassin returned to work and as he did he heard something he hadn't expected and that left him wondering if something was up.

{"You're welcome…"}

It was thirty minutes before midnight and Yohji was quite pissed. Pissed and tired.

He crouched in front of an office door as he picked the lock with his tools. Yohji really didn't want to be here, he wanted to be on his bed sleeping; because at the rate things were going he would only have a few hours of sleep. The lock finally clicked open and Yohji smiled to himself as he slipped inside the dark room, the faster he got the data from the computer, the faster he could fall down on his bed. He had barely sat down on the chair when he felt something cold being pressed against his right temple.

"Caught you. "

Yohji froze on the spot; he recognized the voice instantly; it came rushed and very threatening.

"Leave the computer off; I'm going to turn on the light. One sound and you're dead."

The room's switch was hit and light flooded over the small office. Yohji witnessed the second when Schuldig hesitated as the telepath comprehended that his target was Yohji.

"Damn…"

Yohji hesitated also as he felt dread flow over him. He felt it too…

Because it's impossible to spend so much time with someone every single day and not feel anything.

A few seconds passed and Yohji suddenly remembered that he was on a mission and chose that moment to scramble out the door and into the hall. He heard the German swearing and he had the chance to run a couple of steps before a shot was fired at him, hitting a spot on the wall very close to his head.

He remained motionless with both arms by his sides; he just didn't know how to react. In a normal situation he would be dead. In a normal situation he wouldn't be running.

Yohji expected to hear another shot, expected to die, but what he expected was not what happened.

Suddenly Omi was there; he had probably heard the gunfire; it all happened in a flash as it usually did. Now it was two against one. Omi shot some of his arrows at the telepath and one sank deep into Schuldig's arm below his elbow, forcing him to release the gun.

Yohji turned, sparing a second to exchange looks with Schuldig before the German left the same way he had come from.

This was not fair at all.

Yohji had the worst time of his life trying to get up the next morning, not only had he gotten less than four hours of sleep, but the incident with Schuldig bothered him to no end. He really didn't want to go to the Day Care Center today; he didn't feel like facing the redhead.

"Good morning Minako," he said half heartedly as he passed through the door.

But what greeted him was not the usual calm and centered Minako. "Oh! Yohji! I'm so glad you made it!" It was more like a semi-neurotic Minako.

"What's wrong?" Yohji asked.

"It's almost six and Schuldig is not here! He's always here at five forty. Always!" she said a little exasperated. "The rooms aren't ready, the storage room is a mess…"

Yohji instantly got wind of the situation "Minako calm down!" he exclaimed after a bit; forcing the concern out of his system. "I'll do the work while you try to contact him." Minako hushed instantly after hearing the words, she hadn't thought about calling Schuldig. She nodded swiftly, leaving Yohji's side and picked up the receiver.

Yohji walked into the children's area and started organizing what little needed to be done and as he did his mind started reeling. What if Schuldig had gotten badly hurt by Omi's arrow? The German had hesitated because of him, because he saw him; what if…

"He's not answering." Minako said as she came into the room. "Normally I wouldn't worry so much, but he's been here at the same time everyday ever since he started working. Did he say anything to you by any chance?" she asked worriedly.

Yohji blinked, the question catching him completely by surprise. "No," he muttered softly under his breath.

Minako sighed. "I'll keep trying then" she replied leaving the room.

Yohji's distraught suddenly morphed into anger. Anger at himself mostly. Why did he feel worried about Schuldig's well being in the first place? Was it because he felt partially guilty of the incident last night? No. This wasn't his fault; he was forced to do this mission even after Kritiker knew that Schuldig was here too. They hadn't care…

There was suddenly a burst of laughter behind him and Yohji turned to greet the children coming in for the day.

"Yohji-nissan!" Kyra said cheerfully as she ran up to Yohji and grabbed his hand to get his attention. She smiled broadly then blinked and looked around the room. "Where's Schu-nissan?" she asked in a curious tone.

Yohji just didn't know how to lie to the child.

Suddenly there was a yell. "Schu-nissan!"

The Weiss assassin turned his glance sideways to find Schuldig tending to Niki and Andrea's demands for attention.

He looked pale, very pale and tired too. Something wasn't right.

One of the girls grabbed Schuldig's right hand without him noticing and pulled. The redhead grimaced with pain and Yohji found himself immediately calling all the children to him and away from Schuldig in order to play a game.

It seemed it was going to be a rough day after all.

The day ran without much incident except that Yohji noticed how Schuldig avoided using his right hand. By four o'clock all the kids had been picked up and Ryon and Kyra had been handed down to their respective bodyguards. Minako had left like she always did and Yohji decided to clean up because Schuldig couldn't do it. Not that Yohji would ever admit to the German that he felt bad about the wound. The redhead had sat down on the couch in the nursery right after Minako left and had fallen asleep.

Yohji finished cleaning up in record time and it was time to close up.

"Oi. Wake up Schuldig, we are done for the day."

The telepath hazily opened his eyes and settled his gaze on Yohji.

"What time is it?" he asked casually.

"Almost five." Yohji replied as he crossed his arms across his chest and returned Schuldig's gaze with one of his own. The German glared at him slightly before rising from the couch and Yohji noticed something.

"There's something red on your arm." Yohji pointed out. Schuldig glanced downwards and cursed under his breath as he brushed past Yohji and went into the bathroom, only closing the door slightly. Yohji wondered about the reaction for a bit before almost slapping himself as the answer became obvious to him. He walked over to the bathroom, knocking softly at the same time as he pushed the door open. "Can I help?"

The reply was immediate.

"NO" the German hissed at him as Yohji opened the door fully. Yohji stared as Schuldig rolled up his sleeve and removed the used bandages from his arm in order to replace them with new ones.

"Who checked that wound? Whoever it was didn't do a good job," the blond assassin threw out.

Schuldig just let out a small grunt. "No one did, there was no time last night."

Yohji's mouth fell open. "You mean you've been walking around all day with an open wound?" he asked incredulously. "You've been losing blood all day haven't you? That's why you look so pale!"

Schuldig just ignored him and Yohji took a step forward.

"Don't come near me Yohji!" The redhead spat angrily. "That's what started this mess in the first place; we got used to each other."

Yohji froze at the words and retreated his step. Schuldig was halfway through the new bandages when Yohji spoke again.

"This sucks." The blond exclaimed as he leaned against the doorframe. "I feel liked we're being played with."

"What do you mean?" Schuldig asked; finishing his bandage and unrolling his sleeve back down turning to look at Yohji who was blocking the way.

"They forced us to work together and collaborate during the day, then they expect us to try and kill each other during the night. That's ludicrous!" The blond breathed out furiously. "Not only that, but…"

Schuldig suddenly slammed his left fist against the wall, ending Yohji's tirade. "Stop Yohji! Just stop! It's not worth it." He said looking at his enemy. "From now on don't talk to me unless it's the last option you have. We are not friends Yohji."

The blond was about to retaliate to the bitter words but thought it over at the look the German was giving him. "Fine Schuldig," he obliged. "I just have one last question for you."

"Whatever."

Yohji glared. "Since when did you started calling me by my first name?"

And with that he left; snatching his keys from the counter; trusting that Schuldig would lock up after he left.


	5. We are not friends aka Get over it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics = thoughts {words} = mental speech

_"We are not friends anymore."_

Those words had been resounding in Yohji's mind ever since they were spoken.

Friends… Was that what they had become?

"I want out," Yohji announced one day in the middle of a briefing. "I want out of this mission."

"Why Yohji-kun?" Omi asked.

"I can't take the annoying telepath anymore," Yohji lied.

"That's out of the question," Manx replied in a firm tone. "The threats have doubled."

"And still nothing has happened…"

"Chances are nothing will." Aya interrupted.

"C'mon Yohji, sulking doesn't suit you." Ken added. "Besides, it's not like you have to be nice to him or anything. He's Schwarz."

Yohji tilted his head slightly and instantly felt uneasy. Was it wrong of him to sulk when Schuldig told him not to talk to him anymore? Or was he just dwelling too much on this? Was he the one who was wrong?

"Cheer up, Yohji-kun," Omi said with a smile. "I'm sure the culprits will be found soon."

Yohji sighed, finding no solace in his teammates words. They just didn't understand. He sank deeper into the couch he was sitting in, pressing his fingertips against his temple as he felt the first hints of a headache rearing its ugly head.

It was so simple before. Schwarz. They were the bad guys, they were evil. Now Yohji wasn't sure anymore. Someone evil wouldn't hold a crying child in his arms and offer comfort. Someone evil wouldn't be there everyday and behave. Someone truly evil wouldn't have hesitated to kill him.

But this was how it was supposed to be right?

They weren't friends. They were enemies. They lived on opposite sides of the same battle.

This realization made Yohji angry. Not angry at himself or Schuldig; but angry at their bosses who placed them in this situation in the first place. It was ludicrous to expect them to switch their emotions depending on the situation. So Yohji's anger grew to the point where it needed an outlet. But Yohji couldn't let that anger show to his team, they would know something was up and if Yohji told them it would just make matters worst. Minako and the children would never be an outlet so that only left one person…

The next few days where hell as far as Yohji was concerned. Not only had Schuldig been true to his word and stopped talking to him, but the halt in constant communication was causing major problems when trying to take care of toddlers.

Yohji found two ways to redirect his frustration.

The first one came to him one day when Yohji had just had enough of the telepath's silence and started 'talking' to Schuldig through the only other means he knew how. Yohji waited for an opportunity when it was necessary for him to talk to the redhead.

"Hey Schu, Kyra says Ryon took her box of crayons, have you seen them?"

The second was calling Schuldig by the petname the kids had given him.

"No." Schuldig answered as he ignored Yohji and the blond saw his chance.

{"Moron"}

{"Coward"}

If Schuldig heard him he didn't show it, not that Yohji thought that a few small insults would affect the Mastermind much. As the day went on the insults morphed to comments and by the end of the day Yohji was telling Schuldig how he had managed to burn his breakfast that morning. By late afternoon they were done and the redhead left without even saying goodnight.

Yohji's mood improved over the next few days, even if Schuldig didn't answer back or didn't seem to react to his every word; which had evolved from insults to one way conversations. Yohji's basic plan was to get Schuldig to stop ignoring him – because unlike the German Yohji had accepted the consequences of this mission; and he was going to say anything that he thought might trigger a reaction. Yohji had to admit to himself that it was very entertaining annoying the redhead this way. At least he hoped he was annoying Schuldig this way; if he wasn't… Well then at least it was taking his frustration out of his system. He discovered that guessing what the German might answer and then going from there could be quite fun.

{"Have you ever been to that new club they opened just a few blocks from here? No? Me neither. I hate waking up in the morning."}

{"Never ask me to cook, I burn everything. Who cooks at your house? I can already picture you in a apron with the words 'kiss the cook' written on it."}

{Any girlfriends waiting for you at home? Or are you so cold hearted that you can't even love?"}

Sometimes Yohji stepped over the line and he knew it; but it tended to happen after 'talking' nonstop for a long time. And Yohji didn't even know if the telepath was hearing him. The only real conversation they've had all day was when Schuldig didn't tell him that the boys needed to be looked after and Yuki managed to run out into the street. Yohji caught the little runaway at the corner just when he was about to cross the street. The child screamed and kicked as Yohji brought him back inside and closed the door that separated the main kids room to the small lobby. Ten minutes later it was naptime and when Schuldig walked outside for a smoke Yohji didn't hesitate to follow.

"Why didn't you tell me you weren't watching the boys anymore?" Yohji screamed as Schuldig placed a cigarette to his mouth and lit it. "Are you listening to me, Schu?" He was ignored again and Yohji fought the very strong urge to hit the German.

Finally Schuldig glared at him with poison in his eyes. "I forgot, okay! Maybe I was a little to busy trying to block someone off who's been a pain for the past three days!"

Yohji blinked. So Schuldig had been hearing his every thought; every bickering, and every insult. "You have to talk to me Schuldig, you can't keep ignoring me just because…"

"Shut up. You don't understand. So shut up."

The Weiss assassin took a deep breath. "If you just told me maybe I'd understand."

Schuldig laughed. "You're Weiss, Kudou and I'm Schwarz; but apparently you seem unable to see that." He said, his voice calming to just above a whisper. "Weiss and Schwarz. Black and white…"

Emerald met jade for a moment.

"We are not friends Yohji. We are enemies."

For the rest of the day Yohji renewed his mental attack on the redhead mostly with insults and things Yohji was certain would pissed the German.

{"You're more of a coward than I thought you were."}

{"Are you going to be controlled by orders your entire life?"}

{"Is this your way of making me hate you again? If it is then you are wasting your time because you're just pissing me off."}

By five in the afternoon Schuldig was already cleaning up when Yohji decided to sit down while he waited for the last child to be picked up. It was late; much later than the kids were usually picked up.

"Hey Andrea. At what time did your mom say she was going to pick you up?" Yohji asked softly. The dark haired girl just smiled as she looked up. "My mommy has a meeting today, but she said she will be here at 6:30PM." The small girl recited the words by heart and Yohji couldn't help but smile. At exactly six-thirty Andrea's mother rushed through the door. She picked up her daughter in her arms and apologized over and over for the delay. Yohji just smiled at the woman understanding her situation completely and wishing them a safe journey home. The blond had barely reentered the children's room when he was grabbed from behind and pushed against the wall.

"Schu…"

"What's your problem? Every second for the past three days! I can't cook! I can't love! Coward! Do you have the slightest idea what your constant onslaught does to me? You don't even give me a chance to build my shields up! I want you to stop! Now!"

Yohji grinned a bit. "So you can talk to me after all. For a while I thought I was contagious or something," he said sarcastically.

Schuldig groaned. "That's it. I'm asking to be released from this mission," he said as he released Yohji and walked a few paces away.

"I don't think they'll let you." Yohji said firmly.

"And why wouldn't they?" The redhead asked, annoyed.

"Because they didn't let me."

Schuldig blinked and set his eyes on Yohji's. "I don't get you, Kudou. Why did you feel so bummed when I ignored you?"

Yohji returned the gaze. "Because the second I knew it was you that night I discovered this mission had a consequence I wasn't expecting."

"And what would that be?"

"That I won't ever be able to see you the same way again. Your name pops in on a briefing and I don't see your malice anymore; all I see is you taking care of these kids." Yohji felt instant relief once the words were out in the open. "Ignoring me is not going to change that."

Schuldig avoided his gaze immediately, crossing his arms at the same time. "Why coward? Why do you always call me a coward?"

"Someone brave admits how they feel. You're just avoiding this problem."

"You don't understand. I hesitated. I've never hesitated before; then I see you and I hesitate."

Yohji flopped himself on a rug nearby wishing he could smoke here. "And I ran instead of attacking you. You're not the only one that has to deal with this situation."

Schuldig was out of words. "So what do we do?"

"Break the rules."

"What?"

"Kritiker and Esset created this problem and it should be them, not us, who deal with the consequences."

"So basically you're talking suicide for you and me."

Yohji smirked. "Not if they don't find out."

Schuldig's eyes widened. "Did you hit your head or something? You're not making any sense."

"I'm saying we should just act normal, just like we were before that night."

Schuldig gave him a weird look. "Are you asking me to be your friend?"

Yohji just smiled at this. "No. I just want you to be yourself and that when it comes to this mission you can trust me; I'm not the one who is trying to kill Ryon and you're not the one who's after Kyra. We need to talk to each other. Today was a close call with Yuki and I don't want it to repeat itself; because as much as I hate to admit it those kids are not so bad when they're not giving me a headache." The Weiss assassin fell back after finishing what he had to say, resting his back against the comfort of the rug and decided to stare at the ceiling. He stared and waited, but when Schuldig didn't reply he finally turned his head and glanced at the redhead. The look on his face was pure amusement. "What's so funny?" Yohji finally asked.

"You, Kudou." Schuldig said with a mild smirk on his face. "You don't seem to care that what you're planning consists of high treason and most likely a death sentence."

"I think we can get away with it as long as we are on mission grounds." Yohji said with assurance and when Schuldig didn't reply right away Yohji knew the German had finally given up on finding a reasonable excuse. The blond assassin felt quite content with himself and was quite surprised when Schuldig suddenly threw himself in the rug beside him. "Fine." The redhead said. "I don't care anymore."

Yohji couldn't help but smile.

Minako beamed as Yohji and Schuldig both stared at her with immense disbelief.

"I don't think right now is a good time, Minako." Yohji said wisely.

"I agree," Schuldig added.

She just smiled. "But you guys are getting on so well and the kids need a change once in a while."

The two assassins exchanged looks. "But…"

"No buts." Minako reaffirmed. "On Friday you're taking the children on a field trip."


	6. Trouble in paradise aka You're on a what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics = thoughts {words} = mental speech

Yohji debated over if he should take his watch or leave it on his drawer. He didn't know how useful it could be at an amusement park. He looked at it one last time and opted to leave it. He rushed down the stairs, picking up the bag he had prepared the night before with things he thought might be necessary. Band-aids, Kleenex, baby wipes; the basics, then left out the door.

When he arrived at the Day Care Center Minako stood behind the lobby desk and Schuldig was in front of it; it looked like they were revising the schedule for the day.

Schuldig turned his head around. "You made it, Yotan. For a second there I thought you were going to back out," the redhead said with a smirk.

Yohji frowned instantly; 'Yotan' was Schuldig's idea of revenge for the 'Schu' comments. The blond had a sudden impulse to hit the German in the head, but resisted the urge in Minako's presence and just stood by his side instead. Schuldig just laughed.

"Good morning Yohji." Minako said. "Here's your copy of today's schedule. You'll leave ten minutes after the kids get here. I rented a van, it's parked in the alley. The park opens at eight, you have a mandatory break at ten and then there's a show at eleven. Lunch will be at noon and you have to be back here by three o'clock. Any questions?"

Yohji looked over the schedule then at Minako. "You'll stay here with the babies right?"

"Yes. If there's any problem give me a call." Minako answered. "Here's the money for the tickets, seven children and two adults; here's the money for the food…"

"Seven?" Schuldig interrupted.

Minako blinked. "Didn't I tell you?" Yohji shook his head. "Andrea's mother called to say that the girl woke with a fever this morning and that she couldn't come to the field trip."

"Oh." Yohji muttered.

Minako glanced at the papers on the desk again. "Where was I? Ok. Money for the tickets, money for the food, here are the keys to the van, I think that's everything… Almost forgot; here." She said pulling out two shirts from under the desk. "Put these on."

"What are these?" Schuldig asked.

"Shirts with the Center's logo." Minako replied. "Now put them on, the kids will be here any minute and you have a schedule to keep."

Yohji glanced at Schuldig for a second; the idea of the shirt didn't appeal to him that much but by the look in the redhead's eyes he knew he had no choice in the matter and headed inside the kid's room to change out of courtesy for Minako.

Yohji put his bag down after closing the door behind him. It hadn't even been a second before the door opened again.

"You could have waited you know. You're not the only one who's dreading the next few hours."

Yohji just shrugged then removed his shirt in a single motion, throwing it aside and picking up the Center's shirt and started putting it over his head.

"Nice pecks, Yotan."

Yohji stopped cold, the shirt only over his head. "Excuse me?" was the first thing that popped in his mind.

Schuldig had the most innocent look Yohji had ever seen. "What? Can't you even take a compliment?"

Ooookay. "I don't think I should be taking compliments from you," he said as he finished putting the white shirt on which wasn't too tight or too big.

"Ouch Yohji. You hurt me, I thought we were friends." The redhead replied, finally removing his own shirt and holding it between his hands.

"And how come this is my fault?" Yohji spat out of nowhere, getting a little annoyed.

Schuldig frowned. "Who said it was?" he said in disbelief, making his shirt into a ball and throwing it at Yohji in an impulse.

It hit Yohji right in the face. "Don't throw your dirty laundry at me!"

"Hey that's clean! As clean as I took it out of the dryer this morning."

Yohji beamed, feeling suddenly hyper. "So you are the one that wears the apron at home!"

"Unlike someone I know who needs to be taken care of like a baby."

The mix of anger, hyperness and the need to retaliate made Yohji do something he otherwise wouldn't do. He stretched his hands and snatched Schuldig's shirt from his hands before the redhead had a chance to put it on.

"Oi!"

"I help in the house! Take that back."

"Or what? You're going to hold my shirt hostage? Sooner or later you'll have to give it back." Then Yohji grabbed one of the finger paint cups and open it slightly making the redhead widen his eyes. "You wouldn't dare." Yohji gave him a look. Schuldig challenged the gaze and jumped. Yohji wasn't expecting that so when Schuldig slammed into him he lost his hold on the finger paint, which fell to the floor with the lid still closed.

Schuldig grabbed a handful of the shirt and pulled, dragging Yohji forward since he refused to let go.

"Oh that's real mature!" the blond snapped, refusing to give the shirt back to its owner. He was trying to make a point; which right now he didn't remember, but he was going to make it.

"Look who's talking!" Schuldig spat back, yanking the shirt towards him again while Yohji still had a good grasp on it. The redhead took another step back and his feet landed on the rug; then he slipped taking his shirt and Yohji with him. He landed first on his butt, then on his back when gravity brought Yohji's body over his, making Schuldig's head collide against the foot of one of the tables. Ouch.

Yohji's weight disappeared as Schuldig remained lying on the floor with his eyes shut and his hand on the back of his head where he could feel the beginnings of a bump.

"Are you okay?"

"No." The redhead replied as he rushed to sit up with his eyes still closed; but as he did so his forehead collided against Yohji's who hadn't stood up like Schuldig had assumed by had stayed on all fours, looming above him. Just what he needed, another bump. Schuldig was really annoyed now; he snapped his eyes open and glared at the blond, putting his hands on the floor and raising himself with them unknowingly bringing his face very close to the other assassin's. He froze… And before he knew it his pulse doubled.

Yohji was caught unaware by the sudden closeness and stood very still, releasing a few sharp breaths from his mouth.

There was a knock on the door. "Boys are you decent?"

Yohji blinked. "Be right there," he answered, finally standing up and walking over to where he had left his bag. He glanced at Schuldig briefly who was already up and putting the shirt over his head; then he walked out the room much more confused that when he had entered it.

Yohji ended up driving the van with seven hyper kids in the back and a very silent redhead. After they got there it was a challenge to control the kids who just wanted to run inside the park at the first sight of the rides. Yohji made everyone hold hands and walk in a straight line as he brought up the front and Schuldig the rear; that way they could keep an eye on them at the same time as they kept them under control. Once inside they would let the kids on the rides and wait for them at the exit; always keeping a sharp eye even though Yohji believed that the chances of someone attacking in the middle of a place full of witnesses were practically zero.

At ten, like the schedule noted, they found a table near the food establishments and while Schuldig stayed behind trying to keep the kids seated Yohji went to buy ice cream for all of them. The blond assassin returned five minutes later; just when Schuldig was having a glaring contest with Ryon, with seven small ice-cream cups in a tray. Yohji gave the redhead an amused look while he distributed the ice cream among the children and Schuldig gave each of them napkins.

{"Maybe I should have bought nine."}

{What?"} Schuldig replied, caught unaware by the question.

{"Do you want ice cream?} Yohji asked bluntly.

{"It's not in the budget."}

{"I'll use my money. Do you want some or not?"}

Schuldig blinked at him. {"Sure. Why not."}

Yohji smiled as he started on his way back to the get more ice cream. But he never got there as he was stopped by two familiar faces. He blinked slowly, reassuring himself that he wasn't seeing things.

"Hi Yohji."

"Omi?" the blond assassin asked, still very confused.

"Hello." The person beside him spoke softly.

"Prodigy?" Yohji asked even more confused. {"Schu! Come here now!"}

"No code names, Yohji-kun. We're on neutral ground after all." The older teen said with a bright smile at the same time as he licked the ice cream cone he was holding.

Yohji felt Schuldig suddenly beside him. "Nagi?" The redhead asked in the same confused tone Yohji had used. "What are you doing with Bombay, Nagi?"

"I said no code names." Omi repeated still smiling. "And us?" he glanced at Nagi slightly. "We're on a truce."

"A what?" Both older assassins exclaimed at the same time.

Omi ate some more of his ice cream cone. "Well… Nagi and I kept bumping into each other trying to follow you so we decided to follow your example and make a truce."

Yohji frowned. "We are not on a truce; we are on a mission."

"Doesn't seem like it." Nagi interrupted.

Schuldig gave his teammate a look of disbelief. "Just because it looks like it doesn't mean we like it."

"Sure…" Omi replied.

"What does that mean?" Yohji spat in a meaner tone that he had meant to. But Omi and Nagi just exchanged looks and smiled.

"Nothing." The blond teen said. "C'mon Nagi." Omi started to leave and Nagi followed; it wasn't long before they had gotten lost in the crowd.

"Can you believe those kids?" Schuldig said after a moment of silence.

Yohji looked at the redhead. "What I can't believe is that they sent them after us without telling us. We have to be more careful."

Schuldig returned the look then took a deep breath. "I know."

After the brief encounter with the youngest members of their team; Yohji and Schuldig tried acting a little less friendly towards each other. After all, the blond had mentioned once that he hated the redhead. Something that wasn't true anymore as much as he wanted to deny it. The problem was that it wasn't really working; the best they could do was not talk much. They let the kids get on one final ride before the show at eleven. As they waited for the train to stop Yohji started a conversation with a woman close by. Schuldig ignored most of the conversation until he caught on to a certain line of thought. He walked over to where Yohji and the woman were talking. He grabbed the blond's wrist without saying anything and pulled Yohji away at the same time as he sent an order to the woman. She'd believe that they were long gone.

Yohji didn't utter a sound until Schuldig stopped at the ride exit and released his wrist.

"Why you do that?"

"She's been married two times."

"So?"

"She's looking for husband number three."

Yohji's mouth formed a silent 'oh'. Then he blinked slowly. He almost asked "Is that the only reason you pulled me away?" but in the ended opted not to when he noticed how the question could have a slight double meaning that he wasn't really sure of. So instead he just stood there by the redhead's side as they waited for the train to stop.

At noon, after they had seen the show, Yohji found another table where they could serve lunch to the kids. While they ate the pizza Yohji spotted Omi and Nagi a few tables back. At one point someone tapped Yohji's shoulder and dragged him into a conversation that lasted less than five minutes. After answering the tourist's questions he turned back towards the table and was instantly worried.

"Where's Kyra?" he asked Schuldig who was busy tending to a spilled drink. The telepath glanced over at the table. "She was there just a second ago…"

"Find her!" Yohji ordered. Schuldig shut his eyes and searched for her the best way he knew how. It didn't take very long. {"Near the entrance, she's scared."}

Yohji stood up in a flash and started running towards the park's entrance. {"Watch the kids!"} He sent the telepath before disappearing out of sight.

The blond assassin dodged people as he ran through the crowds; his eyes taking in everything around him. He finally reached the entrance after what seemed like forever. It took him just a few glances before he spotted in the almost desolated parking lot what was undeniably Kyra being pulled by the hand by some man. Yohji forced his legs to move even faster and when he was close enough to be heard he started yelling.

"Kyra!" The young girl turned her small head around. "Yohji-nissan!" she cried out as she tried to pry herself from the grip on her wrist. Being discovered seemingly startled the kidnapper and much to Yohji's surprise he let Kyra go and ran away. Yohji kneeled instantly in the middle of the road when he reached the girl, making sure she wasn't hurt. "Are you all right Kyra?" he asked. She nodded as a few tears fell from her eyes. "Did you know who that was?"

"No" came the small reply.

"Yohji watch out!"

The blond assassin had barely registered the words when he looked to the side and saw a vehicle heading straight towards him and Kyra. He had a moment when his head cleared and he realized that in the kneeling position he was in there was no chance for him to get out of the truck's path in time. He made a decision and pushed Kyra out of the way and when he expected the truck's blow something else slammed into him, rolling him to the side in the nick of time.

Yohji laid on his side by the sidewalk and when he finally opened his eyes he was met with annoyed emerald orbs.

"You idiot!" Schuldig spat at him as he sat up. "You almost got killed back there, lucky for you I have a little more agility than most people."

Yohji couldn't keep the surprise out of his face as he sat up too. "Did you just jump in front of a speeding car to save me?"

"That's pretty obvious isn't it?"

"Why?" he asked automatically.

Schuldig blinked and found that he couldn't find an answer for that question.

Yohji was about to say something when Kyra appeared beside him, still obviously shaken by the whole experience. He stood and took the girl into his arms, trying to calm her sobbing. Once up he offered the redhead his hand and helped Schuldig get up from the dusty pavement and as they walked back to the park Yohji sent a thought that he was sure the telepath would hear.

{"Thanks for saving me."}

Schuldig had left the children under Omi and Nagi's supervision after he had decided to run after Yohji. They decided to leave after the incident. Yohji and Schuldig lead the march with Yohji still holding Kyra in his arms and Schuldig did the same with Yuki who had fallen asleep. Nagi and Omi followed close behind with the rest of the kids; all holding hands and singing a sing-along as they went along. The sound reminded Yohji how the young assassins were still children no matter how grown up they acted sometimes.

They got to the van and with their teammates' help got all the kids seated and with their seatbelts on in record time. As they got ready to leave Omi and Nagi shook hands as they nodded to each other and just like that their truce was over. The young telekinetic glanced once towards his teammate before turning around and walking away. Yohji shut the door and turned on the engine, Schuldig sat beside him and they exchanged one look before driving away.

Schuldig sat in silence as Yohji drove, troubled by not only the events that had happened just a few minutes ago but also by the small exchange of words he and Nagi had before the young teen had walked away.

_{"Do you like him?"} Nagi asked suddenly with a bit of amusement in his voice._

_{"What would make you say something like that?"} Schuldig spat, obviously annoyed._

_{"Because you keep glancing at him."} Nagi stated._

_{"I am not!"}_

_{"In denial already?"}_

_Schuldig frowned a bit. {"You think you're so smart, don't you?"}_

_Nagi just smirked. {"I know I'm right"}_

_Schuldig groaned. {"Just shut up."}_

"What are you thinking about?" Yohji asked when he stopped at a red light.

Schuldig opened his eyes and glanced at the blond slowly. "Nothing… I'm just tired."


	7. Serious things aka baby trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics = thoughts {words} = mental speech

Schuldig sighed heavily as he walked inside the establishment. He was hungry and tired; twice as hungry. Good thing Japan had as many McDonald's as pretty much every other country. He sat on the first empty spot he found with his order of fries, a burger and a drink. He picked up a fry and started munching on it, shutting off everything else around him and let his thoughts roam free.

A tired sigh left his lips as he looked at his food. As far as he was concerned the day had been a total disaster; starting from the incident with Yohji when they were changing, following with him jumping in front of a speeding vehicle and ending with Nagi's comment. How dare the chibi say something like that anyway?

Like? Like? There was no liking of any kind!

Right?

He rested his head in one hand as he massaged his eyelids; then he sensed someone sitting down across from him. He stopped and open his eyes slowly toward the front. Schuldig rolled his eyes immediately as he tried to glare at a smiling Yohji with a tray of his own right in front of him.

"Of all the fast food joints, you have to end up in mine." the redhead spat out sarcastically.

Yohji just smiled. "First; this isn't your 'fast food joint', its public. Second; I followed you."

"Whatever…" the redhead replied, slumping back in his seat and picking up a fry.

Yohji took the motion as an acceptance of his presence; he felt glad that Schuldig hadn't thrown him out. "Besides," he spoke very softly "you never answered my question."

"What question?" Schuldig replied after taking a bite of his burger.

"Why did you save me?" Yohji asked. He wanted to know. Why? Schuldig was supposed to keep an eye on Ryon and by that time the boy had been safe with Omi and Nagi. Even Kyra had been pushed out of harm's way. He couldn't understand why Schuldig would risk his life to save his'… unless…

"…Because I could." The redhead replied with no emotion at all.

Yohji just stared at him. "If you say so."

The redhead frowned at the reply. "Tell me Yohji… If you'd been in my place, what would you have done?" he asked in a very analytical tone, which received a grunt from the other side.

"Probably the same thing." Yohji answered, which was frankly the truth.

"And you wouldn't have even thought about it, right?"

"Perhaps."

"Then leave it at that." Schuldig finished as he returned to his meal.

But that wasn't it, Yohji thought to himself. He knew he would have saved Schuldig without as much as a second thought if their roles had been reversed. But for him it wasn't just because he could. And that gave way to another question; how would Yohji react if Schuldig died right in front of his eyes? It wouldn't be the same cold feeling he got whenever he killed, when his soul seemed to leave him and his mind went numb. It would be different… Maybe it would even hurt.

"You there Balinese, or did you go on a trip?"

Yohji blinked at the redhead, shrugging off the remark and returned to his meal. He noticed that his fries were already all gone so without hesitation he extended his hand and snatched one from Schuldig's tray.

"Hey! Eat your own fries!" The redhead snapped at him as Yohji put the fry in his mouth.

"But you're not even touching them!" The blond replied in the same manner.

"That doesn't give you the right to take them!"

"I only took one! ONE! Friends share!"

Schuldig had had enough. He slammed his hands down on the table, scaring the family sitting beside them. "Stop with the 'friend' thing! This is not a friendship!"

"Then what is it?" Yohji suddenly stammered, losing all control. "Because it certainly isn't what it was before!" Then in an exasperated manner he turned his head to the side; avoiding Schuldig's eyes. "Enemies don't save each other."

Schuldig slumped back against the chair, suddenly tired. "You're giving this more meaning that it has. What is it that you need to be so certain of? It's there, at the top of your thoughts but I can't read it."

Yohji remained quiet, unmoving. "…you don't trust me."

"Of course I don't."

"No matter what you never change."

Schuldig scowled at the comment but made an effort and didn't reply to it. He finished the last of his fries even if he since long had lost his appetite. How could he not after the fries fight fiasco? After he finished he slowly organized everything on his tray and rose with it. He looked down at Yohji who was in turn looking at him. He felt the mean words at the tip of his tongue 'You're a moron for following me'. He hesitated, took a deep breath and said instead. "See you tomorrow Yohji, unless you decide to follow me home too."

Yohji blinked as Schuldig walked forward and out of the establishment; his eyes following the redhead's every move. This was not exactly what he had planned when he had decided to follow Schuldig on a whim. This was a complete and total disaster, why couldn't they just get along for five minutes when it came to their enemy status? Why was it that the only time they got along was when Kritiker and Esset weren't mentioned? And that morning! What the hell had happened that morning that had left Yohji's heart screaming?

He sighed.

Will it ever end?

The next day Schuldig acted like the McDonald's encounter had never happened. It was raining and the kids were unusually calm because of it. It seemed like everyone was quiet. It was at noon when things got a twist.

The phone rang a little after noon. But Yohji and Schuldig didn't mind it since Minako always answered it. About five minutes later she walked up to the boys, an alarmed look over her features.

"My son's school called, it seems there's been an incident and they need me to be there right away. I need one of you to keep a close eye on the infants while I'm away. Schuldig will you do it?" The redhead blinked at her, but nodded swiftly in agreement.

"I didn't know you had a son Minako." Yohji asked, to which Minako nodded in response then apologized before leaving the center and like on cue one of the babies started crying right then. Yohji just looked at Schuldig who returned the gaze and remained motionless. "Well aren't you going?" The blond assassin finally snapped as the baby's cries sounded more desperate.

"Why me?" Schuldig snapped back.

"Because you told Minako you were going to take care of the babies."

"It's not like I meant it." Schuldig added, to which Yohji rolled his eyes and headed back towards where Kyra and the others where. "Just do it Schu."

Schuldig frowned by gave up and went towards the nursery. Yohji was surprised that after only a few minutes Schuldig had managed to calm the crying child down and for a while the blond assassin wished the nursery wasn't in another room so he could keep an eye on the redhead just in case. Not that Yohji believed that Schuldig was capable of hurting a defenseless baby; maybe a month ago he would have but not now. Still…

Another baby started screaming and ignoring his better judgment Yohji walked towards the nursery. As he approached the door he heard a loud 'ewwww' coming from the other side that stopped him dead. Yohji's smile broadened, he was trying hard not to laugh. Then the door swung open and Schuldig walked out with a slightly distressed look in his eyes.

"That is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen!" he exclaimed the second he saw Yohji. The Weiss assassin couldn't take it anymore and he burst out laughing. "It's not funny!" the redhead pleaded. "Please Yotan, I beg you; exchange places with me?"

"No way!" The blond answered easily.

Schuldig just glared in response, stomped his foot slightly and turned around again. "Fine!" he yelled, shutting the door behind him at the same time as another cry could be heard.

Yohji started on his way back to the main room where all the kids were still asleep from their naptime. He had barely sat down when a hand grasped his shoulder from behind. Yohji stood and turned instantly, shaken by the sudden invasion of his personal space. Schuldig took a step back at the unexpected reaction. "Can you help me for at least a while?" he asked calmly.

Yohji blinked at him, glanced around to make sure the kids were still sound asleep then nodded softly. They went into the nursery where three screaming babies laid. Schuldig took the closest one to him and held him gently in his arms. "How come we never hear these brats screaming whenever Minako takes care of them? What am I doing wrong?"

"It's probably experience." Yohji answered as he took another baby; one which immediately hushed in his arms. "I think they just want to be held."

"I can't handle this Yohji, I have my limits."

Yohji rolled his eyes. "It's just for a while Schu, don't get so desperate. Here…" he added, grabbing a pacifier and handing it down to the redhead. Schuldig took it and gave it to the infant, which immediately ceased his crying.

"You're a pain in the butt kid, just so you know." Schuldig said with a frown, but the baby just giggled at him.

"Ahhh… Isn't that cute? He likes you." said Yohji.

"Sure." Schuldig replied sarcastically. "Very cute, maybe we should get married and have one of our own."

"Sure," Yohji added in a humorous tone. "We could have our own house in the country with two or three kids running around the living room and you cooking dinner for me."

"Why not? But that means you're the one who works."

"Yeah… Too bad we'll probably get ourselves killed before I get a chance to knock you up." Yohji finished with a grin as he placed the child he was holding back in his crib. Yohji waited for a bit making sure the baby was fast asleep. Then he turned his head towards Schuldig who had remained silent after his last remark in their little role-play. The baby Schuldig had been holding was already asleep; and the redhead held the child close to his chest as he rocked him gently.

Yohji just stared. The image reassured him somehow. It confirmed everything he had come to believe about the redhead in the past months since this mission had started. And Yohji knew he would never forget that image.

"What are you looking forward to the most when this mission ends?" The blond asked out of the blue.

Schuldig gave him a weird look for a moment but answered. "Sleeping in the morning," he answered with a grin as he put the baby gently back in its crib.

Yohji chuckled; he knew he should end the conversation there, but for the life of him he couldn't keep his mouth shut. "And the least?"

Schuldig seemed not to move for a while, then he slowly turned towards Yohji who couldn't hide the seriousness on his face. "Yohji I…"

Another cry filled the small nursery, immediately catching Schuldig's attention and he went over to pick the other baby up. The child calmed after only a few seconds of being held. "I think its Minako's presence that calms them." The telepath voiced softly.

Yohji blinked a few times; everything in his consciousness screamed 'SHUT UP' but he had to ask. He wanted to know. And he didn't even understand why. "You were about to say something? What was it? What will you miss the most?"

_"Will you miss me?"_

Schuldig paused, putting the child back in the crib. "-Nothing. I will miss nothing."

Minako looked slightly alarmed when she finally returned a little after two in the afternoon. But when Yohji asked her about it, she just smile, reassured him everything was fine and that her son had broken his leg while playing basketball in gym class but was otherwise fine.

"You can leave early if you want Minako, Schuldig and I can take care of everything" Yohji commented.

She nodded softly. "It's all right, I left him in a relative's house and he'll be fine there. He's eight and loves video games, I'm trying to make him go out more but now I think he has a valid excuse to stay in."

Yohji replied with a smile and left it at that; he didn't want to pry too much on Minako's personal life; he hadn't known her for that long after all. All their previous conversations before this had involved the Day Care Center in some way or another. Yohji always spent most of the day with Schuldig.

As they closed for the day Schuldig went his usual way and Yohji found himself staring at the redhead as he walked away.

The Weiss assassin stood there motionless as a few droplets of rain fell from above. Then he shrugged, dismissing his troubled feelings as a moment of pure insanity and this time he didn't follow Schuldig.


	8. There's something wrong here aka rainy morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics = thoughts

**Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz**

Yohji grumbled as he shut off the alarm clock. He thought it was an extremely annoying sound.

Four months.

Today made exactly four months since he had started the mission at the Day Care Center. Yohji stared at the ceiling as he let the sleepiness vanish from him. Part of him wanted to stay in bed and not get up, but another part wanted to spend the day with Schuldig.

_Wanting to fraternize with the enemy… My god Yohji, what would your teammates think?_

Yohji groaned but finally made his mind rose from the bed, took a shower and went downstairs to get some breakfast. The kitchen was eerily quiet at five thirty in the morning, but Yohji liked it when no one disturbed him at breakfast.

"Yohji-kun!"

Yohji looked up from his coffee. A flushed Omi stood by the kitchen's entrance holding a couple of books and papers. "What is it Omi? It's not like you to be up so early." The teen forced a small smile, but Yohji could see right through it and notice that his teammate had little or no sleep the night before.

"I need to talk to you Yohji-kun."

"About what?"

Omi sat across from him, dropping all his books on the table. "There was a last minute briefing late last night after you had gone to bed. Kritiker is pretty certain that their intelligence dug out the whereabouts of the people who'd been threatening Kyra and the Esset kid. We're going to infiltrate their hideout tonight after nightfall."

Yohji stopped drinking his coffee immediately. He put the mug down gently and scowled at the teen. They should have woken him for something that important. "And what am I suppose to do?"

"Stay at the Day Care, act normally."

"Then why are you even telling me you have a mission tonight if I'm not in it?"

Omi blinked and opened his mouth but no sound came from it.

"Because you need to keep your eyes open," a voice cut in. A very somber Aya stood by the doorframe with a very sleepy looking Ken behind him. "They might try something reckless when finding themselves cornered."

Yohji drank from his coffee again while Aya and Ken sat down. "I suppose," he replied calmly. Yohji often finished his work at the Day Care during the evening, so by the time Aya and the others attacked he would likely still be there today.

"It's likely you won't need to go to the Day Care Center after today…" Omi added softly.

"…and you won't need to tolerate being around Mastermind anymore either." Ken added with a sleepy grin.

Yohji blinked at this, stunned by the comment and the suddenness of it. A moment passed. Apparently Omi, Ken and Aya had expected Yohji to reply quickly to the remark, it was only natural after all, so when Yohji didn't they all stared at him.

Yohji felt himself shrink down under his teammates' gazes. He felt as if he'd done something very bad, something that was prohibited.

"Yohji-kun…" Omi voiced with sad eyes.

Yohji snapped out of his little trance at the sound of his name. He rose from the table, discarding his coffee and walking to the door. "I have to leave, I can't be late," he muttered, and without another word he left through the door.

When Yohji walked out the Koneko the sky seemed sad. There were gray clouds everywhere. He decided to go on foot and by the time he was halfway to the Center it started to pour.

_"…and you won't need to tolerate being around Schuldig anymore either."_

Dammit! Why hadn't he replied to that? He should have said something like 'thank god!' or 'it's about time'; but when Ken had spoken those words Yohji had felt so… empty.

And Omi knew. The look the chibi had given him. He knew. Yohji's unconscious reaction to the comment had revealed how he felt about Schuldig.

He didn't want to stop seeing him.

Yohji ran down the desolated street to the Center trying to escape the rain. The water crashed against his forehead and fell down his face; his feet splashing water around him with every step. Just three more blocks and he would be there. The rain kept crashing mercilessly against him, matching his running thoughts. So today was his last day at the Day Care? A month ago he couldn't have cared any less; a month ago he and Schuldig weren't even speaking to each other. He kept running as an aggravating pain fastened around his chest. Yohji kept his eyes to the ground, watching out for any puddles; so when he veered right at the next corner he slammed into someone who was going straight.

"Sumimasen!" Yohji scrambled to apologize. "I wasn't looking where I was going… Schu!"

"Nice crash Yohji," Schuldig snapped as he massaged the corner of his arm that Yohji had bumped against. The redhead scowled at Yohji and the Weiss assassin just kept staring back as more rain fell. Schuldig rolled his eyes and stepped aside into the entrance of an empty building in order to get some shelter from the downpour. He turned towards Yohji who was still in the middle of the sidewalk. "Are you planning on getting more wet or are you coming here with me?"

Yohji blinked and eventually stepped into the small entrance. The dumbfounded look caused by the morning's events and by what had just happened still clear on his features.

"You're all wet." Schuldig smirked at him.

"So are you."

Schuldig paused for a second; then in a very detached tone he said, "Looks good on you."

Yohji stared hard at the redhead; Schuldig had a big grin on his lips but it looked odd, forced. "Is something wrong, Schuldig?" he asked tentatively.

The telepath chuckled lowly at the same time as he averted his gaze from Yohji to the rain. "Saw right through me, didn't you?"

"Can I ask what's wrong?" Yohji replied.

"Nothing. Brad just ruined my morning." Schuldig muttered.

"He had a premonition?"

"Something about us not being able to or not needing to go to the Day Care tomorrow." The redhead commented in his matter-of-fact voice. "And why the hell am I telling you this?" He suddenly spat angrily at himself.

Yohji made to grab his shoulder but thought twice about it. "Hey, it's all right."

Schuldig just stared at the floor and leaned against the wall behind him, pressing his palms against the surface of the building. "I should be relieved, but I only feel stressed and… somewhat hurt."

Yohji blinked and almost took a step back. "Schuldig…"

The redhead shivered at the sound of his name, he shut his eyes and seemed to cling to the wall. "This entire mission was just one big mistake! I should never have accepted it!" he yelled.

"Schuldig!"

Yohji smashed his right hand against the concrete wall just beside Schuldig's head as he made a fist with his left. The redhead hushed and kept his gaze to the ground as Yohji loomed above him just by a few inches. Yohji squeezed his own left hand almost to the point of hurt out of tension, then after only seconds slowly relaxed his fingers.

"Look at me, Schu."

Schuldig didn't move and when Yohji saw that his plea had been unanswered he did something very bold. His left hand rose slowly upwards; his fingers curled in an almost half fist until his knuckles grazed the skin on Schuldig's cheek softly. Neither moved.

Yohji took a deep breath, he wouldn't move his hand away but he didn't dare go further. Schuldig never turned his face up, instead the redhead raised his own hand and snatched Yohji's with it. Emerald eyes finally rising to meet Yohji's jades as Schuldig took Yohji's hand in his and moved it away from his face.

They remained like that for a moment, not speaking nor blinking, their hands intertwined. Then Schuldig shook his head.

"We'd better go or we're going to be late."

He released Yohji's hand, turned and walked out into the rain. Yohji followed.

Even through Omi's warning and Brad's premonition the Day Care was pretty calm that day. Nothing out of the ordinary except the usual spill of finger paint or catfight between Ryon and Kyra. Today was unusually fierce, even for them.

It was unknown how it started; but suddenly they were screaming and throwing things at each other. Yohji had to pick Kyra up from the floor while Schuldig held Ryon back.

"C'mon kid, stop it!" Schuldig demanded.

Ryon glared at Schuldig. He broke free and stomped his foot as he pointed at his guard. "Don't call me kid! Or brat! I have a name! And if you don't stop I'm telling my daddy you were mean to me!" Schuldig blinked, but refrained from speaking, the kid was having an outburst. Ryon turned towards Yohji who still had Kyra in his arms. "She won't lend me her markers." he accused as he gave Yohji a pleading look.

"Because I hate you!" Kyra snapped suddenly, surprising Yohji.

Yohji scowled lightly at the girl and immediately called her attention. "Now Kyra, Ryon's your friend, you spend time with him everyday. Don't you care about him?"

Kyra looked at Yohji with slightly confused eyes. "But my mommy says I'm not supposed too. Mommy said Ryon's my enemy."

Yohji remained silent after the girl's words, his surprise reflecting on his eyes. Kids to Esset and Kritiker; their lives were going to be full of challenges. "And what do you feel about him?" he asked gently.

Kyra just blinked and answered honestly. "I like him when he doesn't try to steal my things."

Yohji smiled. "Then I guess there's no reason to fight so much." He placed Kyra back on the floor and urged her forward. "Try to get along now. You too Ryon," he added. Ryon nodded slowly, offering Kyra his hand, which she took with a smile on her face. Yohji followed the kids with his eyes as they rejoined the rest of the group at the drawing table.

"You should hide that."

"Hide what?" Yohji asked.

"Your watch." Schuldig pointed out keeping his voice low and an eye on the children. "You never bring it, but today you have it on."

"Guess I forgot to leave it." Yohji muttered softly. Then a crazed idea jumped into his head. "You don't happen to have your gun with you by any chance?

Schuldig turned surprised eyes at Yohji. "Are you kidding? To a place full of running brats? Too dangerous, and all I need is right here remember?" He finished as he touched his forehead with his index finger.

"Yeah…" Yohji mused. If he hid his watch, he would be without a weapon, but Schuldig would still have his telepathy. But what if?

Yohji was suddenly filled with doubt. Two months, in two months time he and Schuldig had built some sort of relationship, but what if it had all been on purpose?

"No" Yohji thought as he reassured himself. It couldn't be all a façade, not after the way they had built said relationship. All the bickering and the fighting and the silent treatments and the hiding. It truly was a fucked up relationship. And it was also a real one. "Why do you want me to hide the watch so much?"

"Why?" Schuldig replied incredulously. "Because your little Kyra is curious about it and the only thing in her head is that she wants to touch it. Like they say, better safe than sorry."

Yohji blinked, the he chuckled lightly and though of himself as a fool for doubting the redhead. "Watch them" he warned.

The rest of the day was filled with regular activities, painting, running and the occasional singing that left Yohji laughing his ass off every time the kids force Schuldig into his own unique rendition of 'Puff the Magic Dragon'.

Minako left around two in the afternoon after the babies had been picked up to take care of her. At four the kids started to get picked up and by five thirty only Ryon, Andrea and Kyra remained. This made Yohji restless; it wasn't uncommon for Andrea's mother to come late, but Kyra and Ryon were always among the first to be picked up. Each kid had their own personal bodyguards who had never been late before. Yohji decided to have the kids make a semi-circle and gave them some play-dough to keep them busy.

Finally at ten minutes before six Andrea's mother showed, apologizing again for the tardiness. When she left, Yohji locked the main door behind her; if someone wanted in, they could knock. Ha passed by the desk and went back inside the main area where Schuldig was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed as he kept an eye on Kyra and Ryon. Yohji sat beside him, noticing the last of the sunrays vanishing.

 _"They must be starting now"_ Yohji thought.

"Who?"

Yohji blinked and found Schuldig's emerald eyes questioning him silently. He sighed to himself. There was no real point in hiding it really. Schuldig would find out through Schwarz sooner or later. Yohji told him.

"It's already nightfall." Schuldig commented after Yohji had finished, keeping his voice low so the kids wouldn't hear. "This kids haven't been picked up yet. The ones we're suppose to protect on the night your team attacks." Yohji nodded and their eyes met for a second. "Get your watch from the nursery Yohji. I have a bad feeling."

"So do I."

Yohji rose from the floor and stepped out the room silently and right into the nursery. He went to the back of the small room and opened the drawer where his watch was. The door slammed shut suddenly, making Yohji jump. He turned around and stared at the door, but there was nobody there. Yohji shrugged, finished fixing his watch around his wrist and headed back only to discover the door locked and bolted.

"What the?"

The kids were starting to get restless; Schuldig knew from the uneasiness in their thoughts. He tried his best to comfort them, though he was pretty certain he wasn't doing a very good job at it. He heard a noise coming from the entrance and he raised his sight expecting to see Yohji at the door frame. But much to his surprise Minako was there instead.

"Schuldig?" she asked sounding surprised. "Are you still here? Kyra and Ryon haven't been picked up yet?"

Schuldig shook his head as he stood from the floor. He spared a glance to the kids; Kyra and Ryon had stopped playing and were now paying attention to the two adults. "I thought you had gone to take care of your son? Did you leave something behind?"

She seemed to look around the room for a bit, then her eyes turned to the children and then to Schuldig who was behind them. "Are you alone Schuldig?"

"No, Yohji is…"

Schuldig hushed, his eyes going wide. Kyra let out a soft gasp as Minako pulled a gun from seemingly out of nowhere, pointing it first at the kids and then straight at Schuldig.

Minako's face was full of sadness. Her voice could barely be heard.

"Forgive me."


	9. The assassin aka resolve

"Minako…"

Schuldig couldn't keep the shock out of his voice.

Kyra whimpered, catching Schuldig's attention. The telepath took the opportunity to command the kids to hide behind him. Kyra and Ryon responded immediately, almost running to hide behind the redhead. He was now the only thing between them and Minako.

"This was all a set up, wasn't it?" Schuldig asked as one of the kids clutched to him; Kyra. Even if it was Yohji's job to protect her, Schuldig wasn't about to let the child get hurt just because Yohji wasn't there. It was clear the woman was after both children.

Minako nodded slightly, her hand shaking. This worried Schuldig the most. The gun's safety was clearly off. This was no bluff; Minako had come for those kids. "I'm just a pawn." She said, "I have to do what they say. Just give me the kids, Schuldig."

Schuldig shook his head.

"Please…Just let me take them."

"No."

Schuldig watched as Minako started to squeeze the trigger and instantly tried to open a link between them so he could stop her.

But she had shields. Strong ones. She didn't stop.

"Minako please! I'm sure there's another option than the one you're taking," Schuldig pleaded, realizing that his telepathy was useless at the moment.

She just shook her head sadly.

"You're in the way Schuldig."

Yohji cursed for the twentieth time as he slammed his entire body against the nursery door. He knew something was wrong and he knew he had to open that door now.

He was about to charge at it again when he heard a gunshot followed by a kid screaming.

Yohji froze for a second. His entire body, from head to toe, getting instantly cold.

_"No…"_

He slammed himself against the door again with more force than before.

Once. Twice. At the third blow the door pushed open and almost immediately a hand wrapped itself around Yohji's throat, pushing him back inside the room again. The hand around his neck belonged to a scrawny looking man with a thin face, blue eyes and dark hair. Yohji choked under the pressure on his throat and raised his knee upwards, successfully slamming it against his attacker's groin.

The unknown man groaned, loosening the grip on Yohji's throat. Yohji shoved him away; his only goal right now was getting to where Schuldig was. Yohji reached for his watch, but before he could pull the wire out of the device he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder. Yohji winced and reached for the long needle embedded on the back of his hand. He pulled it out and threw the needle away as the attacker pulled more of the small weapons from his pockets and launched at Yohji again.

Kyra had a death grip on Schuldig as she cried her eyes out.

Schuldig did his best to calm her down by using his telepathy as he tried to cover the wound below his shoulder.

Minako really was serious about going through with what, apparently, was an order from someone. Schuldig couldn't believe that she had actually shot him. At least she wasn't out to kill him; she could have easily wounded him in a more fatal spot than his arm. Schuldig was starting to get nervous, a feeling he hated. For some reason he couldn't use his telepathy against Minako. And as much as he hated to admit it, he needed help. Where the hell was Yohji?

"Move away, Schuldig," Minako asked again, still keeping the gun pointed at the redhead.

"Get a grip Minako. Take a look at what you're doing," Schuldig spat back.

"I have no choice!" she screamed. She stepped forward, but seemed to hesitate. Schuldig saw his opportunity and launched forward, snatching the gun from her hands and ordering the kids to run. She struggled against him for control of the weapon. She scowled. "I didn't come here alone." She suddenly said.

Schuldig finally took the gun from her grip and hid it in one of his pockets. He ignored Minako and went after the kids, because if Minako wasn't the only one there, then Kyra and Ryon where still in danger. He spotted the kids hiding behind a bookshelf in another corner of the room and instantly went towards them, making sure they were all right. He glanced around but saw no one. If Minako's words were true then where was her supposed accomplice?

Schuldig concentrated and searched for Yohji. But before he could pinpoint the blond, one of the kids yanked at his shirt, claiming his attention. Schuldig turned around to find Minako with a new gun in her hands.

He had made a mistake.

"I told you before, I have to do what they say," she said. "Move, Schuldig. I don't want to hurt you."

"You mean you don't want to shoot me again," Schuldig spat sarcastically, unable to stop himself.

"I'll do it again if I have to."

Schuldig could not believe what he was hearing. There was something wrong with Minako. He hadn't notice it before because she had surprised him. But now it was quite obvious. Her attitude, her posture; everything so unlike the cheerful woman he had come to know in the past four months. "Who are you?" he asked.

Minako had the beginning of what seemed to be tears in her eyes as she shook her head.

"Move!" she yelled.

Schuldig remembered the gun he had taken from her. But he didn't even reach for it. For some reason he knew he couldn't shoot her, not in front of the children and certainly not when he was certain Minako wasn't in her right state of mind. He just shook his head, his resolve firm. "I won't."

Yohji dodged to the left, avoiding a needle that was aimed at his face. All he wanted to do right now was get rid of this guy and find out what was going on in the other room. He was supposed to be protecting Kyra, but he was still here dodging sharp objects. Every time he tried to reach for his wire, one of the little needles was thrown at him. They were at a draw.

Then another shot ran out, sending a chill down Yohji's spine.

Yohji noticed a grin forming on his attacker's lips at the sound. But he didn't feel dread or worry. Just pure uninhibited anger. He launched forward, connecting his fist with the man's face, successfully sending him backwards. His wire wrapped itself around the assassin's throat, but not before the man managed to plunge one of his needles into Yohji's shoulder.

The struggle didn't last very long and soon the man lay dead on the floor.

Yohji retracted his wire back into his watch, pulled the needle from his arm and ran out of the nursery.

Minako gave another step forward.

Schuldig sat on the floor, his arm wrapped around his waist. It hurt too much for it not to be a serious wound. He could hear Kyra and Ryon crying softly behind him. They were scared.

Minako tried to go around him and reach the kids but he pushed her back. He gave her a death glare, making clear his intention that there was no way she was getting to those kids as long as he was conscious. His lower abdomen screamed in pain as he moved.

"Yohji, where are you?" Schuldig thought before he felt the pressure of the barrel of the gun against his temple. He glanced up; Minako's eyes were bearing down on him. "I told you to move." She cried softly. "You leave me no choice."

Schuldig closed his eyes, waiting to hear the shot, waiting for everything to go dark. He never thought he would die for a couple of brats.

But there was no shot. The cold feeling of the gun disappeared. And Schuldig snapped his eyes open to find Minako on the floor, her arms tied with a line of wire. She was crying.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she kept crying over and over. "They have my baby! I have to do what they say! I have to take the kids! I have to!"

The next thing Schuldig saw was Yohji. Kneeling beside him, asking what had happened and if the kids were all right. There was instant relief in Schuldig's mind. He finally felt he could relax after everything that had gone down. He rested his back against the bookshelf and took a deep breath.

Yohji took the kids with him and sat them down where he knew they would be safe. Then he took Minako, who seemed to have fainted, to the nap area and laid her there. He then returned to Schuldig's side.

Schuldig tried his best not to move because every move he made, no matter how insignificant, was extremely painful. A hand touched his forehead and Schuldig opened his eyes to a concerned looking Yohji. "You're hurt," Schuldig muttered, taking notice of the blood on Yohji's shoulder.

"It's nothing, just a flesh wound." Yohji disregarded it. "How about you? She shot you in the arm?"

"I got shot more than that." Schuldig chuckled a bit. "But at least I did my job."

Yohji gave him a confused look and the slight amusement in Schuldig's eyes instantly changed.

"What's wrong Schuldig?" Yohji asked. Schuldig avoided the piercing gaze and finally moved his arm away from his waist, finally exposing the gunshot wound he had received in the stomach. "She shot me twice."

Yohji instantly snatched his blood-soaked hand away, checking the wound over.

"Schu! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Schuldig forced a half-smirk on his face. "Because I don't think there's anything you can do."

"Don't talk like that!" Yohji snapped. "They're on their way."

"Your friends?" The redhead asked.

"Yes. I've had a warning device, ever since the accident at the amusement park."

Schuldig nodded slowly, allowing a smirk to form on his face. "I guess I won't be able to make it tomorrow." He added, squeezing Yohji's hand.

"Does it hurt?" the blond asked.

"Of course it does, hurts like hell," the redhead replied, closing his eyes briefly.

"Hey!" Yohji yelled; grabbing Schuldig's chin and making their eyes meet. "Don't fall asleep on me."

Schuldig smiled weakly. "I'm trying."

Yohji could hear what sounded like a siren in the distance. "C'mon" he told the redhead as he took him in his arms. But the second he tried to pick Schuldig up, the telepath screamed.

"Stop! Don't…"

Yohji put Schuldig back down and released him. He was about to pull back when Schuldig's hand wrapped around his shirt, smearing it with blood, not letting him leave. The redhead rested his head against Yohji's chest as he tried to ignore the pain.

Yohji put an arm around Schuldig's shoulders, allowing the redhead to rest against him. Schuldig noticed Yohji's heartbeat was faster than usual and he allowed himself to be held. It felt nice.

"I'm sorry I didn't respond to you this morning," Schuldig whispered.

"Did you say something?" Yohji asked softly.

Schuldig smiled and raised his head upwards, tracing a finger across Yohji's cheek, in the same manner that the blond had done that morning. Yohji's eyes seemed to widen slightly, but he responded to the touch and pulled Schuldig closer to him, letting their eyes meet.

"I cared," Schuldig whispered as his eyes closed and his world dimmed into black.

"Schu?" Yohji questioned, shaking the redhead a bit. "Schuldig?"

Emerald eyes didn't open. There was no response.

The siren sounded closer now.

Yohji just screamed.

"Schuldig!"

\----

It was over.

The bad guys turned out to be an upstart gang that had wanted to kidnap the children and use them as leverage against Esset and Kritiker. Their reasons were never revealed. Minako received no penalty for her actions; she was treated for the drugs she had been given and released shortly thereafter. Her son had been rescued during the mission and returned to her.

Everything went back to normal. Or as normal as things could be.

Yohji walked slowly towards the counter at the Koneko no Sume Ie. He held a bouquet of orchids in his hands. He had just started wrapping the flowers on top of the counter when Omi walked into the room.

The teenager took notice of Yohji's chosen chore and scowled slightly. "Those are for him aren't they?" he asked.

Yohji didn't respond.

"You have to let him go Yohji. It's been two weeks. The mission is over."

Yohji finished wrapping the flowers and turned around. "Like you let Nagi go?"

"It's not the same thing Yohji. Nagi and I just spent a day together."

"Well for me it was four months," Yohji finished, making his point.

Omi hushed, taking a deep breath. Yohji picked up the flowers and exited through the shop door, leaving Omi still worried inside.

Yohji decided to walk. He didn't particularly care what Omi thought or knew for that matter. It was his business, his personal business at that. It had nothing to do with Weiss. He needed to do this; he needed to see Schuldig at least one last time. It took him approximately ten minutes to reach his destination. He walked into the building, saluted the person at the front desk and took the stairs up to the second floor. He didn't even bother to use the elevator, heading straight to the third room to the left. He opened the door without knocking, just in time to catch Schuldig trying to rip the I.V drip from his arm.

"What are you doing?" Yohji asked.

Schuldig raised his head and immediately stopped trying to pull the needle out. "Yohji!"

"You aren't by any chance trying to remove that needle again are you?" the blond said as he reached the bed.

"But it stings!" Schuldig pouted. "It's making me nuts."

"Baka," Yohji replied hitting Schuldig on the head with the bouquet of flowers. "You know what the doctor said."

"I know, I know. That I won't heal as fast unless I keep this damn thing on."

"Very good." Yohji nodded. "Now that we got that clear. Here," he added, giving Schuldig the flowers.

"Flowers again?" the redhead asked as he took the bouquet. "You know, Yohji, chocolates say 'I love you' too," he finished with a grin.

Yohji frowned. "Don't be a smart ass."

Schuldig laughed as he put the flowers aside. "Nagi came by yesterday to tell me, the mission is now officially closed."

Yohji nodded. "Everything's sealed as of now. It's as if none of it ever happened."

"Have you gone back to the daycare?"

"No, I haven't had time. But I heard everyone's ok, including Minako."

"She came to apologize after I woke up." Schuldig said. "Is not that I resent her, but I still think she didn't have to go to such extremes."

"It really wasn't her fault, Schu. You know they had her kid and they gave her those drugs."

"I know. Still doesn't erase the fact that she almost killed me."

"Yeah. You ruined my clothes with all your bleeding," Yohji snickered, making them both laugh.

"Funny how we can laugh about that now. But I was told you looked quite distressed when they wouldn't let you come with me in the ambulance, and that you even started fighting with one of the paramedics."

Yohji blinked. "Who told you that?"

Schuldig grinned. "Omi told Nagi, who told me."

Yohji's eyes widened. "You mean Omi and Nagi are on speaking terms?"

"As far as I know. Seems they discovered they have a lot of things in common."

Yohji stood from the chair in a single movement. "That little liar!" He yelled as he started pacing around the room, waving his arms around. "After telling me all that stuff about how I need to stop seeing you…."

Schuldig followed Yohji with his eyes, snickering under his breath as the blond went from one corner of the room to the other. "Well are you?" he asked eventually.

Yohji stopped and turned his eyes to the redhead. "Am I what?"

Schuldig still had a slight grin on his lips. "Are you going to stop seeing me?"

Yohji averted his eyes for a second, then walked back to Schuldig's side and sat on the chair again. "I kinda have to," he said calmly.

"Oh…" Now it was Schuldig's turn to avert his eyes for a bit. "It's going to be hard you know."

"What is?"

"Going back. Erasing everything that has happened. You were right; it was unfair of them to pair us up like that. Everything's different now." Schuldig hushed after he spoke, not daring to look Yohji in the eye.

Yohji noticed and rose from the chair again. "I really should head back now, before someone notices that I'm missing." Schuldig looked at him and Yohji thought he saw sadness in those emerald eyes. He stretched his hand and pushed Schuldig's bangs away from his face, leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on the telepath's forehead. "Goodbye."

Schuldig took a breath, watching as Yohji left his side and headed out of the room, away from everything that had happened, away from him. Words crept to the tip of his tongue, but he didn't dare speak them. He just watched, and let Yohji go.

"Goodbye…"


	10. Farewell

Yohji had quite an interesting conversation with Omi when he got back to the Koneko after his visit with Schuldig. At first the teenager denied everything, but Yohji just kept insisting until Omi blurted it all out. Yohji thought it was all very amusing, especially since Omi appeared to be blushing most of the time.

Omi swore that he was just relieving some stress since Nagi was the only person around his age that understood what his life was really like. He also said that they had just exchanged a few e-mails. Yohji smiled the entire time and promised he wouldn't say anything.

A week passed.

Yohji had nothing to do. He found his shifts at the shop boring. He couldn't visit Schuldig since it would just make things worse. He missed the daycare, he hated to admit it, but he missed it a lot. One afternoon Aya told him he could leave early. After thinking about it, Yohji finally decided to go back and say his proper farewells.

The walk to the Day Care felt incredibly short. He passed through the door and instantly spotted Minako seated at the front desk going over some papers. She stood when she saw him and smiled warmly. She apologized again for hurting Schuldig; she realized now that she should have just told them what had happened to her son instead of acting so rashly. Yohji reassured her that it hadn't been her fault, and that Schuldig held nothing against her.

"Are you sure?" Minako asked, with a bit of fear in her voice.

"I'm sure." Yohji smiled. "How's your son doing?"

"He's much better now. He doesn't remember what happened. I'm very grateful for that."

"That's good to hear," Yohji said. "I wanted to say goodbye to the kids, if that's all right. I don't want it to look like I disappeared on them."

"They would love that!" Minako beamed. "They've been asking about you two. Schuldig is still in the hospital, isn't he?"

"Yes. He's supposed to be released soon, but I don't know when."

"Someone told me you used to be on opposite sides."

"Used to be?"

"You aren't now, are you, after all that…" Minako hushed when she saw the gloomy look on Yohji's face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so nosy. You can go see the kids now."

Yohji forced a smile on his lips. "Thank you." Then he walked into the main room. All the kids were sitting in a group as the two girls who had replaced him and Schuldig were reading them a story.

Kyra was the first to spot him coming in and yelled happily, making everyone else notice. "Yohji Niisan!"

Yohji reached to pick up the girl as she came running towards him, an honest smile on his face. All the kids crowded around him.

"Are you coming back?"

"Can we play tea party again?"

"Where's Schu Niisan?"

Yohji couldn't help but laugh softly as he tried to answer every question. The new girls decided to leave him alone for a bit; they understood that he was there to say goodbye and thought it was best.

Yohji started to try to explain in simple terms why he had to go, but it was easier said than done.

"Are you still friends with Schu Niisan?" Andrea asked.

Yohji shook his head slightly. "No, we…" Yohji felt a hand on top of his head and closed his mouth as he glanced to his right.

"We what?" Schuldig interrupted, giving Yohji a grin.

Yohji smiled instantly.

"Schu Niisan!" Kyra yelled, still in Yohji's arms.

"So are you?" Andrea asked again.

"Of course we are." Schuldig responded her, finally slipping his hand off of Yohji's head.

The two assassins spent a good half-hour with the children, talking with them and cheering them up. But eventually it was time for them to leave. Kyra and Andrea had tears in their eyes as Schuldig had his last tongue-battle with Ryon. Yohji tried hard not to laugh, but failed miserably and Schuldig just kept yelling at him to shut up. Yohji thought it was a very pleasant farewell.

As they left the Day Care together, Minako apologized again and again. Schuldig just kept rolling his eyes and trying to leave. Once outside, Yohji finally noticed how nice the day was, so very unlike that last rainy day.

"I swear, I'm going to hit that woman if she apologizes again," Schuldig muttered.

Yohji just laughed. "Let it go, Schuldig, I think she knows she won't see us again. Maybe she wants to make sure you won't go after her. She knows you're an assassin after all."

"Yeah, yeah," Schuldig mumbled.

They walked alongside each other for a while, throwing random comments at each other. But nothing about their teams or their missions. Eventually they reached a fork in the road. The Koneko was to the right; Schuldig's place was to the left.

"I guess this is it then?" Schuldig voiced after a moment of silence.

Yohji nodded slowly. "Guess so…" He shifted his body slightly and looked at Schuldig. If he was going to say something, this was it. He swallowed once. "I'll miss you."

Schuldig blinked and lowered his gaze, taking a deep breath. He raised his eyes once more. "I will too."

Yohji forced a smile onto his face "Bye." He waved and started heading towards the Koneko.

"Hey! Yohji." Schuldig suddenly yelled, running towards the blond and snatching a corner of his shirt. He couldn't let it end like that.

Yohji froze in mid-step, then turned around, letting his eyes settle on Schuldig's. "What?"

Schuldig displayed something between a grin and a smirk on his face. "I have something to tell you."

Yohji blinked. "What is it?" he asked again, leaning a bit towards the redhead.

Schuldig still bid him to get nearer. "Closer, I can't say it out loud."

Yohji's eyes widened a bit, the curiosity consuming him. What did Schuldig need to tell him that was so surreptitious that it needed to be whispered? No one seemed to be paying attention to them. Certainly nothing about their teams, they had been avoiding the subject purposely. What could it possibly be?

Absolutely nothing.

Schuldig snatched the neck of Yohji's shirt with a single hand and pulled him in. Their lips met for a single breath. Then the kiss was broken just as suddenly as it had started.

Yohji stared wide-eyed as Schuldig released his shirt. At the same time, the redhead raised his eyebrows tentatively. Yohji traced his own lips with two of his fingers, an automatic reaction. He opened his mouth to speak, but Schuldig pressed a single digit against his lips, successfully hushing him.

"See you around, Yotan."

Yohji blinked, then smiled. "See you around, Schu."

~xxx~


End file.
